A Spark Forgotten - Tamsin Crook 

Strong percussion and trombs to open up the third concert of the weekend, basses and bass Tromb sit well underneath the band throughout this, with warm horn and euph interactions throughout. Powerful dynamic and stylistic contrast throughout, the band show off their fantastic full sound. 

Euphonium Concerto - Derek Bourgeois (Glenn Van Looy) 

World-renowned Glenn Van Looy shows off his extreme virtuosity, moving between registers, particularly higher, and still keeping such a pure tone throughout. Band sit well underneath this throughout keeping the pace, and taking over nicely in the tutti sections, again especially the trombone section, with a broad dynamic contrast. 

Horns and basses up with warm sounds in the second movement, sitting well under Glenn. Soloist pushes dynamic contrast in here, and makes the band work extra hard, which they do well, and Glenn makes playing look absolutely effortless and just soars. Soprano accompaniment in the second movement 👏. Muted basses add ambience at the end of the middle movement which was very effective. 

Third movement shows off even more of Glenn, and band and soloist work well together. Euphs and baris come through clean in this movement as well, and cornet solos in this are also tidy. Glenn brings this absolutely rock solid piece to a stunning close. A massive congratulations. 

Mellisanda - Phil Lawrence 

An exciting start to the opening of this world premiere, needing seven percussionists (!!) with classy features from cornet, flugel, horn and euph. As the piece moves away from its busy opening, the slower movement opens into some great features from euphs and horns and cornets again, really bringing out some lush sounds, and there is lots of nice band sounding moments in this. There was lots to keep the band on the edge of their seats in this, but the main spotlight absolutely had to go to their fantastic percussion team; not an easy piece but they all smashed it. 

Land of the Long White Cloud 

A class opening for their final piece of their performance, euphoniums and horns really shine in this, especially in the opening phrases, band really stretches here, and dynamics are controlled but still effective enough to make a very good sound. Moving into the fast paced section, band is controlled and keeps the pulse moving forward. Good solo horn and sop duet, and again good sound from horns and euphs. Lovely soprano solo to open the slower section, followed by warm cornet and a stunning flugel solo. Mid band open the theme with a broad and massive sound, truly exposing some dynamic contrast within this. Fast paced picks up well again, and bass Trombone opens the next theme well. The piece draws to a dramatic close, and the band sound here is spectacular. A fantastic performance.